From beautiful bars with original interiors that make you feel like you’ve travelled back in time to proper old boozers that haven’t changed in decades, these are some of the best traditional pubs in Edinburgh.
Our list comes courtesy of The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), who recognise that a lot of pubs in the UK are so historic, that their cultural worthiness is equal to that of any statue or tourist attraction.
There are some incredibe pubs in Scotland’s capital – and CAMRA has included some of them in their list of the top 120 of ‘Scotland’s True Heritage Pubs’ guide published in 2018.
CAMRA says: A magnificent island-bar pub built in 1899 in a four-storey sandstone tenement by P L Henderson. It is well worth going out of your way to visit. It is unique, having a
gantry-like structure on the top left-hand side of the bar counter and a series of low, ticket booth-like windows for service, which are numbered on the inside. Photo: Third Party
CAMRA says: This high-ceilinged, male-dominated, single-room pub is little changed in over 100 years. It is located on the ground floor of a five-storey red ashlar building, designed in 1900 by Sydney Mitchell & Wilson for the National Commercial Bank of Scotland and the Caledonian United Services Club. Photo: Third Party
CAMRA says: It has an old gantry, bar counter, vestibule entrance and a fireplace covered by seating. It is divided into two rooms by a pedimented arch, which had the wood panel on the counter replaced by a glass one in recent years. Photo: Third Party
CAMRA says: Built as a four-storey red sandstone dwelling in the 19th century, the interior by P L Henderson is dated 1898. It is quite possible that the bar was much as it is today, apart from the rear left section where the original toilets were – these are now downstairs. Photo: Third Party
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